


Caught

by LadyZephyr



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Canon-Compliant, Drabble, F/F, Stream of Consciousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24744859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyZephyr/pseuds/LadyZephyr
Summary: Cosima knows Delphine is bait, deep down, she cannot really forget. But she takes the lure.
Relationships: Cophine - Relationship, Delphine Cormier/Cosima Niehaus
Comments: 61
Kudos: 115





	1. The Baited

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this piece as a writing exercise, because I haven't written in forever.  
> It is supposed to be canon-compliant. Another sort of missing pieces part.

Delphine is obviously bait.

  
Cosima reflects on the beautiful francophone woman looking back at her across the table. Her grades are too good. She’s too attractive. Too…perfect. Like a brilliant, gorgeous PhD student is just going to land in her lap here in Minnesota. 

She is,  _ almost exactly _ , what Cosima would choose to plant in her own life. If she were running this crazy clone experiment. Other than the whole boyfriend in Paris.  _ If he even exists _ , Cosima reminds herself. Who is to say anything about her is real? Delphine’s crying wasn’t particularly convincing. That is, if Cosima is to believe that she was in love with this guy. Then again, if Delphine is a plant, there’s no way she couldn’t like women too. She’d  _ have _ to. Cosima smiled at the thought.

She knows her relationship history is more short affairs and loss of interest before the year mark. But with  _ Delphine _ … would that still be the case? They really  _ got _ each other. So, wouldn’t that help? The French thing she wouldn’t necessarily have chosen, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. 

  
Delphine is bait. Cosima knows this. It’s too much to be anything else.

Cosima has had to constantly remind herself of this, like back when she sauntered up to Delphine, sliding her ass up onto the table to flirt and wound up at a Neolution lecture. It’s hardly the worst first date. Especially after she steals them some wine.  _ She wants Delphine,  _ she can’t not. But she thinks she can do this logically, engage, figure out what Delpine is up to. Maybe even have some fun while she’s doing it because Delphine is more than she expected.

Cosima had felt Delphine’s eyes on her several times during the lecture. Watching her instead of Dr. Leekie. Who admittedly, was an interesting speaker. If a bit weird and possibly eugenical. Probably eugenical, Cosima thinks, her irritation with the man growing by the minute. This was not the evening she had wanted. Talking about her dissertation with Dr. Leekie hadn’t been anywhere near her plan. At least she was able to hear more about Delphine’s. 

  
  


Delphine had asked her to dinner after all. Cosima dressed for a hot date, but maybe it wasn’t? If Leekie would just get lost, she and Delphine could get back to it. And Delphine does like to watch her, even when she’s sassing the hell out of Dr. Leekie.

It’s easy to see, there’s something there. Is it a romantic interest? Does Delphine just think she’s cute and want to watch her? Merely because she’s a clone? Cosima wonders again about her double blind theory. But, Delphine would be ignorant then, and Delphine seems too smart to do anything blind. She, like Cosima, would want to know.

  
  


Delphine may actually be smarter than she is. Cosima muses, she is more than capable of keeping up with Cosima. Their intellectual synergy is impressive, she decides with a grin. Finally, Leekie excuses himself, and she and Delphine are left alone again. 

  
“It’s getting late.” Delphine checks her watch.

“Yeah. It is…”

“Want to share a cab home?” Delphine offers, and that sounds good enough to Cosima. She nods and Delphine quickly calls them a cab. And why end the night now? No early class tomorrow, for either of them. 

“I have wine at my place,” Cosima offers. “Californian. Red. And we don’t have to pay for it by the glass.”

Delphine laughs with a smile of her own. “I’m sold.” She tells her.

  
The cab ride feels more like a date than the dinner did, perhaps because they are finally truly alone. And yes, they talk a bit about Dyad. Delphine waffles over applying to the institute before deciding, on her way up the stairs to Cosima’s. That it is too good an opportunity to pass up. 

“Wine?” Cosima offers, unlocking her door. She glances around, sure some of her clothes are still on the bed, but those can be moved. Delphine looks amazing, and 

“Yes, I just need to use your bathroom.”   
  
“Yeah. Yeah - it’s off the bedroom at the back.” Cosima waves Delphine in the right direction, before uncorking her only bottle of wine. Oh well, it’s as good a use as any. Maybe better, if Delphine enjoys it. If they can both just let go, just explore the rest of their connection and leave the Dyad business out for a little while.

_ Isn’t it time we admit what this is really about? _

She presses her lips softly to Delphine’s. Tentatively, slowly. She tries to be inviting, tries to convince Delphine that  _ this _ is what they’re both after. At least, she hopes it is.

Cosima’s thoughts of spending her night wrapped up in Delphine’s legs are quickly dashed by the blonde making a hasty exit, pushing back gently on her arms. Delphine’s eyes are still open. And she looks shocked, not aroused.

_ “It’s - It’s ok.” _ Delphine stammers on her way out the door,  _ “Bye.” _

“Definitely not fucking ok.” Cosima says to herself after she’s heard Delphine retreat down the stairs. 

Had they warned her? Cosima wonders. It doesn’t seem fair if DYAD had thrown her in blind. Foolishly, she thought monitor meant Delphine would have to like women. 

But maybe Delphine was just supposed to recruit her, and be enticing but not follow through? It wouldn’t make sense to give her a straight monitor, would it? Delphine focus seemed to be the Dyad Institute at any rate. And … there was something deeply uncomfortable about the way Dr. Leekie kept showing up. Delphine had chosen the restaurant, Delphine may have planned this all.

Cosims considers her less than stellar relationship history briefly with a grimace. Would she choose intellectual chemistry over physical if she’d had to choose a monitor for herself? If she were running the experiment? The logical answer is; she’d try to get both. But what if that wasn’t an option?

She’d wanted Delphine too badly, and she had pushed too far. Even if Delphine wasn’t 100% straight, they hadn’t even known each other more than two weeks. It wasn’t enough time. Not to flip her, if that even was really a thing.


	2. The Lure

_ Dig deeper, faster. _

Aldous’s words echo in her head as she’s practically shoved from the vehicle. Delphine understands she’s essentially been told to have sex wth Cosima, if necessary. It may indeed be the easiest way to get information from Cosima. Or access to her apartment. 

Annoyed, she thinks Cosima’s homosexuality should have been more than a footnote in a file. It hadn’t been worth spelling out to her. Why? Because she’d have objected? She was never going to be a true monitor anyway. She certainly didn’t think  _ this _ would happen. Whatever  _ this  _ was.

He’d thrown her in blind. Maybe she was no better than the real monitors. The ones who had no idea what it was they were doing. Her job was simply to ascertain if Cosima was self-aware. She suspects Cosima is, but she may be weeks or months away from trusting Delphine that much, if ever.

But was she any better? _Ask_ _her_ _to_ _dinner_ , Aldous had instructed her and she’d done it. Not thinking about any implications beyond arranging a dinner Aldous could crash to get close to their subject. 

Delphine sighs, making her way home from campus. She’d been given a rented room in a house. Just like the student she was supposed to be. Delphine Beraud. Maybe Delphine Beraud was supposed to be gay. But Delphine Cormier was not. At least she’d always assumed she wasn’t. Bisexuality isn't something she’d ever spent time considering. Was that theoretically possible? What if she wasn’t? 

Her biases are clear. Delphine sighs to herself. She’d assumed heterosexuality without investigating other hypotheses. It had been assumed that was what she was. It was easy enough, men liked her. Why try something else? 

  
**_Hypothesis: Sexuality is a spectrum._ **

**_Status: Untested._ **

She’d felt something when Cosima had kissed her, aside from surprise. 

Untested, Delphine wants to laugh. But not entirely. There was a related hypothesis she had tested many times. 

**_Hypothesis: Physical attraction isn’t required for sexual intercourse._ **

**_Status: Accepted._ **

This she knows well. That she’s done many times, most recently with Aldous. There was nothing physical or emotional on her end between her and Aldous. She had admired his intellect, his scientific accomplishments, at least at first. There was nothing else there, or at least nothing besides her academic desire to know what the hell she was working on. Encoded marker tags. 324B21, 7794H1, 330C02, 317B31, 327B24… so many numbers but nothing concrete. Nothing as to why.

That is all she’d known then. She’d known they were human, that they were clearly part of some experiment. But nothing else made sense. Nothing else until she’d approached Aldous. Taken advantage of her accent, her body, whatever else drew Aldous to her. Perhaps he had had some respect for her mind, her curiosity, but she didn’t count on it. He still wouldn’t show her or divulge information about the original genome. Even when subjects were getting sick. Or dying.

Aldous lies. This she knows. Delphine doesn’t find that hard to accept.

It never led to much desire, or pleasure, but she’d still slept with him multiple times. His mind was appealing, but his ego grated on her more and more with time. It had been worth it, to find out about the clones anyway. 

It’s nothing new for her. Since leaving boarding school, since starting university, men had been interested. She’d occasionally reciprocated physically, emotionally was another story. That had been absent. It’d only get in the way. She’d learned to trade off, sex for something she’d wanted far more. 

It had raised her security clearance, it had let her meet a clone. Meet 324b21, known only from her test results until she’d landed in Minnesota and Aldous had shown her a picture and given her a name. Let her meet  _ Cosima _ .

Cosima, who was cheeky, fun, and so very alive.

Cosima whose intellect was equal to her own, whose scientific interests aligned near perfectly. Cosima who does stimulate her emotionally. She  _ cares _ , more than she expected to.

_ Cosima’s safety is at stake. _

She cannot forget that either. She suspects it is a genuine threat. But from who? From Dyad? Would they terminate a self-aware clone? From someone else?

They would have made perfect partners, at least in a research context. Perhaps the initial lure Aldous had suggested hadn’t been his actual goal. Ascertain self-awareness, get close to Cosima.

Perhaps he’d always expected Cosima to want to bed her. Perhaps he knew just how much was an act, that her passion for him was entirely feigned. Was he expecting her to do the same for Cosima when she asked? He’d probably anticipated her reluctance, had a plan for that too. 

How much was of her own choosing? She unlocks the front door before climbing the stairs to her rented room, she unlocks that as well, closing the door behind her. She changes her clothes, unsure who she wants to be when she shows up at Cosima’s door. How does one move forward from a refused pass? Would Cosima still want to see her or would the sting of rejection be sitting heavily on her? Either way, she had to try.

Was there another way to get closer to Cosima? Science may be enough, they share enough interest there. They are alike enough she could find something to tempt Cosima’s intellectual curiosity. Or perhaps just try to connect emotionally? Be the ‘best friend’ she’d thought Aldous was setting her up to be. All to find out, how aware is Cosima?

Delphine could try that first. At least give her an in. She dresses simply, in a brown sweater and red skirt. She looks attractive, certainly but she doesn’t try to be sexy, doesn’t look through the zippered hanging bag of clothing in the back of her closet. The clothes she wore for Aldous because he asked. 

She dresses in a light coat, grabs a bag and some pamphlets from Dyad, and begins the walk to Cosima’s. Rehearsing what she plans to say, how this could go. What would be the best for Cosima? What would ease the tension now? Would it be the same? Would they interact with the same unexpected ease?

The front door of the house is unlocked, she climbs the stairs and knocks softly on the door, hoping that Cosima will still answer after the disaster of yesterday. At least they are not tipsy on wine this time. Maybe that will change things.

_ “I hope I am not disturbing you.” _


	3. The Hook

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the POV is third person omnipotent. I don't usually write that POV because it's confusing. I'm sorry.

_ “Delphine!” _

This was not the visitor she was expecting. At all. Cosima rushes to apologize, that much she can do. She’d missed Delphine and if this is all she can have, she’ll take it. 

_ “It’s good to finally meet somebody who gets it, who gets me.” _

Delphine clumsily stumbles over perfect words she won’t easily forget, sexuality as a spectrum, attraction codified by cultural biases. 

It’s encouraging, Cosima feels warm at the thought. And she tells Delphine so, but waits, not moving to close the distance between them. She spent the last day convincing herself that she could _ not  _ have Delphine, and needed to give up on it if she wanted to continue their friendship. And, Cosima had been surprised to find, she did want Delphine’s friendship. Desperately. 

Delphine’s hand reaches out, cupping her face before grazing her mouth with her thumb and Cosima swears she can barely breathe. Delphine leans towards her to close the gap, and like a magnet, she’s drawn in.    
  
The kiss is easy, so easy. Cosima throws herself into it, and Delphine draws her in. 

Even if it’s just a kiss, Cosima is hooked. A fish on the line, and she’s going to let Delphine reel her in. 

**

  
  


Cosima lets her sweater fall from her shoulders and Delphine moves to help her, enthralled. She lets Delphine push her back on the desk, lets her wrangle the rest of her sweater off her. The kisses arouse her easily, quickly - but she can’t let this go too fast.

She’d pushed too fast last time. And Cosima cannot quite bring herself to believe that Delphine will go through with this. This reminds her more of encounters she’d had a decade ago, and some of those ended long before clothing hit the floor. And far more awkwardly.

  
Another impassioned kiss takes her breath away as Delphine pushes her down on the desk. Delphine lets out a little sigh, and it feels so genuine. So uncertain. 

“Hey?” Cosima checks in quickly, reluctantly breaking the kiss. “Are we OK?”

“Yes.” Delphine breathes her response, burying her face in Cosima’s neck, hands just barely grazing her hips. This much is easy, surprisingly easy. She hums into Cosima’s neck, enjoying herself.

  
She wraps her arms around Delphine and throws herself into the next kiss, clinging and slow, she makes Delphine chase her mouth as she leans back, holding just out of reach. God can the woman kiss, Cosima delights in this, as Delphine pulls her firmly in to capture her mouth. 

“Is this OK?” Cosima asks, grinning, her tongue touching her teeth. 

“OK.” Delphine echoes. Her kisses turn gentle and slow again. Her tongue continues to tempt Cosima’s own. Hands just starting to move tentatively.

“Yeah. Touch me like that.” Cosima groans, feeling Delphine’s hands on her face, her neck, her hips. 

A few hours ago she’d convinced herself that this couldn’t happen, she couldn’t have Delphine, she needed to back off. Maybe they couldn’t find her a suitable queer lady monitor, or maybe they’d wanted a friend monitor for her? 

Or maybe she was wrong, maybe Delphine was just a student, she doubts it - but she still hopes. But now, oh god, Delphine is on top of her, pinning her down to her desk. And can the française ever kiss! The sweetness of her lips, the enthusiasm, their dizzying chemistry. This, this could be more than enough.

Cosima’s head is spinning, a thrill running through her. This isn’t just going to be a kiss, this isn’t slowing down, if anything Delphine seems more desperate, more intensely focused on kissing her as they go. 

Already aroused, Cosima grins. She wants to work Delphine up until she’s a quivering needy mess. Show Delphine that she can please her, that she can give her what she needs. She wants slow, wants to take her time, wants to show Delphine just how good it can be. 

As if in response, Delphine moans into her mouth, her hips jerking slightly into her before she stills them.

Cosima writhes happily under Delphine for the moment, pressed firmly into her desk. She manages to wriggle out of her sweater, finally freeing her arms to wrap around Delphine, her legs itch to surge up, to wrap around Delphine’s waist and hold her closer but she resists. Some of her things fall to the floor, papers, something that sounds heavy. Shit. Oh well. The surge of arousal and the heat radiating through her body enough for her to not care if the damn thing breaks.

Delphine’s mouth releases hers suddenly, looking almost like a meerkat. “What...what fell?” She asks breathlessly.

“Nothing important.” Cosima strains upwards, recapturing Delphine’s lips. She’s moaning into her mouth, her hands are tentative on Cosima’s body - notably avoiding her breasts, but still. They continue until not even Delphine’s enthusiastic kissing can distract her from the books and other objects poking uncomfortably into her back.

“This is so hot... but so uncomfortable.” Cosima ends up laughing. She’s fairly certain one of her binders is poking her in the back.

“A little.” Delphine giggles back at her. She backs up, offering a hand to Cosima to help her off of the desk. They stare at each other for a moment. 

“Can I take this off you?” Cosima asks toying with the hem of Delphine’s sweater.

“I…” Delphine bites her lip. “OK.” Does she really  _ want _ what comes next? Delphine knows her body is responding to Cosima. But, what Cosima is offering ... it’s not quite sex.

“Hey, if you don’t want to take it off right now it can just stay on.” Cosima shrugs leaning back against the desk.

“What if I don’t…” Delphine lets herself trail off. Nerves? Uncertainty? She isn’t sure. And maybe she won’t be until she’s in Cosima’s bed… or… in Cosima.

“You’d be surprised how much I can get done with a girl who is still mostly dressed.” Cosima teases gently. “Like, I don’t want to pressure you, but as long as you give me some access… I can get things done.” Cosima giggles, outright flirting.

  
Delphine laughs too, despite herself. “Just a little slower?” It’s not really sex afterall, Delphine tells herself. Even though her body is responding to the stimulation, she can keep going with whatever this is. This...foreplay. She can do this with Cosima.

Cosima smiles encouragingly. “We’re going to go really slow. Do you want to move to the bed? We could lie down. Be more comfortable.”

“Yes.” Delphine lets out a small exhale. “Take it off me.” 

Cosima reaches for the sweater, she gently removes it, taking her time to memorize what this is like. Delphine’s beige bra looks unplanned, like the decision to take the plunge with her had been made standing up dorking out over murine models. This is real. This is honest, Cosima smiles at the thought. 

Delphine watches Cosima’s reaction to her, the grin, the ways her eyes dip down over the body. It excites her, more than she wants to say. Instead she leans down to remove her boots, those, those will definitely get in the way.

“Here,” Cosima says gently, “Let me help.” She kneels and finds the zipper on each boot before guiding it off Delphine’s foot. She repeats the process with the other boot and then stands, reaching for the closure of Delphine’s skirt. She’s stopped by hands reaching back for her. Cosima smiles slightly at the dull ache she feels between her own thighs, unable to stop herself from wondering Delphine is aching too.

Delphine peels off the rest of Cosima’s clothing - stopping when Cosima’s standing before her in her underwear. Cosima smirks momentarily, watching Delphine take her in - pleased that she’s wearing a matching set with a push-up bra showing her assets. 

Cosima’s pride fades somewhat when Delphine stops, biting at her lip. So do the questions on her own lips.  _ Do you want me? Do you like how I look? How I feel? _

“Sorry. This is… very new to me.” Delphine apologizes, reaching back out for her. Realizing that something is off. That Cosima is unsettled by her uncertainty. 

“It’s okay.” Cosima croons. “You get to set the pace here. We can just make out, if you want.”

In response, Delphine’s delicate fingers go to help her, sliding her skirt off as she scoots back further onto the bed. 

Had Delphine changed her mind? “Do you want to stop?” Cosima pulls off her glasses, setting them aside before climbing back onto the bed beside Delphine.

“Non. Embrasse-moi.” Delphine tugs her back up to her lips, falling on her back when Cosima pushes her down on her bed. This is better, Cosima decides, though Delphine is still moaning into her mouth and rocking up and stroking her face, her arms. It’s too easy to forget that Delphine knows Leekie, possibly too well. Delphine may betray her.

Cosima takes her time, mapping limbs, kissing down Delphine’s neck to her collar bone. She lets herself linger slightly, testing Delphine’s reactions, listening to her heart beat fast. 

She’s aware she’s groaning slightly into Delphine’s skin, but cannot bring herself to speed this up, not quite yet.

It turns passionate. How could it not? Cosima is so very passionate, Delphine understands that about her subject now. And she in turn, kisses Cosima back with as much passion as she can muster. It’s getting to her in its tenderness, a little too close to places she doesn’t go. 

Delphine is shivering in her arms, and Cosima worries it’s too cold in the apartment. The heating in this old house is always so uneven. Or is Delphine afraid? Nervous?

“Are you cold?” Cosima moves to pull the blankets in around them but even covered Delphine continues to shake in her arms. Don’t worry, she wants to say, I’m going to take care of you.

“No.” Delphine smiles nervously, shaking her head.

Cosima leans in to kiss her with every ounce of tenderness she possesses, trying to ease the nervousness or whatever it is. This cannot just be a one time thing, Cosima hopes desperately. Her heart may not be able to take it. 

Delphine’s tongue refuses to behave - darting out as she moans into Cosima’s mouth. She’s kissing her hungrily again within seconds. Before she realizes what she’s done, Cosima is hovering over Delphine, straddling her, letting her hands roam freely despite the barriers. Delphine’s breasts may be shielded from her eyes, but there’s still so much skin.

“Just tell me, What do you want?” Delphine asks softly as Cosima is kissing gently along her hipbone. Maybe if Cosima tells her they can move this forward, maybe knowing would help. 

Cosima takes a deep breath before responding.“I want you.” She looks deep into Delphine’s eyes, hoping to see her desires echoed there. Hoping this feeling, this connection, runs both ways. 

“I...I don’t know. Tell me what you want me to do?” Delphine fumbles over her words. This is so much already. She’s not sure how much more of Cosima’s tenderness she can take.

“I’m fine, it’s fine,” she reassures Delphine, kissing her neck, laying her back down on her bed. “Here, just lay back, okay?” Cosima knows then, she cannot have everything she wants. At least not right away. But she can have  _ Delphine _ .

Cosima tries to soothe her with soft kisses, and gentle hands exploring skin and skimming the last fabric barriers between them. She rocks her hips gently to tease, but gives no friction to Delphine’s searching body. She wants to draw this out as long as possible, just in case it’s the only time. But Delphine moans, and shivers and thrusts her hips desperately upwards. Cosima cannot stop herself from rocking harder back into her. She presses closer, kissing more fervently.

“Delphine.” She moans sweetly, intending to increase Delphine’s arousal, kissing behind her ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth. Her hands find Delphine’s hips, touching, sliding down the soft skin of her thighs. “I want to be inside you.” 

A needy sound is her only response. It shocks Cosima to feel her hand being grabbed and pulled between Delphine’s legs, right to the apex of her thighs. The blue panties hide nothing, Delphine has soaked through them. 

“Ohh.” Cosima moans, unable to help herself. The desire to touch, to taste, to penetrate is suddenly irresistible. It feels like proof that Delphine wants her. She’s wet for her. She’s moving under her. No one has ever felt this good, felt this... intense.

“Please...” Delphine begs, pressing Cosima’s hand to her drenched sex.

“Minute, minute...” Cosima sits up and quickly shucks the rings off her fingers one by one. She’s definitely wearing too many today, why hadn’t she done this earlier?

“Cosima...” Delphine starts to plead again, but she interrupts quickly. She lets her own sex graze Delphine’s leg as she lowers herself back down. 

Delphine bites her lip in response, letting out a small sound.

“I had to take my rings off.” Cosima explains. She crawls back over Delphine and tugs the comforter up around them, her lips find the line of Delphine’s jaw. Her hand drifts over a fabric covered breast.

She wants to remove the last of their clothing, see all of Delphine, suck what is no doubt a perfect nipple into her mouth - but she lets Delphine decide. She looks... nervous? Too nervous probably to undress, or...to taste.

“Do you want my hands?”

A soft voice answers her. “Yes.” 

She pulls the underwear aside, and begins to stroke Delphine. She wants to see everything, but she settles for the feel of damp curls and slick flesh against her fingers. 

Delphine gasps, writhing under her, clinging desperately around her middle. Hands stroking her skin. Is she aching? Throbbing? Cosima muses smiling down at her.

“Do you want this? Does it feel good?” Cosima breathes, leaning up to capture Delphine’s lips, moaning into her mouth, stroking her tongue with her own. Delphine is... responsive.

Delphine looks up at her, soft hazel eyes meeting her own. “Yes.”

“Beautiful.” She murmurs, slipping inside Delphine gently. Cosima keeps her body close letting her skin brush Delphine’s, as she strokes into her, curling her fingers.

She was wrong. Delphine realizes. Cosima moving in her, with her eyes fixating on her face with an intensity she cannot quite name, feeling so connected. This is definitely sex. 

Delphine’s hand on her face, Delphine’s eyes seeking her own, holding her own, it’s fucking perfect. Cosima lets out a groan. This is enough. More than enough.

Delphine seems to agree, voice hazy with pleasure. “Cosima...” 

“I’m inside you.” Cosima breathes, eyes shutting for a moment and Delphine swears she feels her heart thud in response. This...is not  _ just _ sex. Delphine knows she must try to speed this along, get it back somewhere she’s more comfortable with. But something about Cosima stops her.

“You smell so good.” Cosima moans, leaning to nip at Delphine’s earlobe, her neck. She lets her take her, languidly. But there’s a tenderness in Cosima she didn’t quite anticipate. And it’s captivating, Cosima moves over her, in her, kissing her, and it’s more than she expected.

She watches Delphine, moaning softly, back arching, body tensing. It won’t take long, Cosima notes... but it won’t be enough. Not for either of them. Not to sate her own longing for Delphine. Not for Delphine, who moves against her so needily

“So perfect.” The words slip out of her mouth unintentionally when she feels Delphine’s inner muscles gripping her fingers.

And it is perfect. Delphine cannot argue with how this feels. Cosima moving inside her, Cosima ... _ loving her _ . It’s too much. Her emotions get the better of her, she wraps herself around Cosima, kissing her fiercely for a moment. 

Delphine arches, contracting around her fingers. There’s a little cry of pleasure and Delphine’s pretty hands clutch her tighter. Delphine’s body slackens slightly, and she smiles back up at her until Cosima leans down to kiss her urgently.

Cosima doesn’t stop moving, but continues, slow and steady... it’s not enough... will it ever feel like enough? She adjusts to brace her hand on her thigh, shifting over Delphine. If she can’t come, at least she can have this. 

“J’ai déjà... I already...” Delphine pants as Cosima continues her movements, slow and steady. 

Cosima grins, kissing Delphine’s cheek, “I know.” She’s panting too, moaning slightly as she moves over her.

Delphine gazes at her, slightly disoriented, “Mais...”

“I can’t get enough.” Cosima murmurs, her eyes refuse to leave Delphine’s for a moment until she feels her quake and slip over the edge again, coming hard against her hand.

“There...” Cosima smiles, slowly slipping out of Delphine, hand leaving a wet trail up her belly as she gently lays down beside her. She glances down considering tasting her fingers, before thinking better of it and curling up next to Delphine, not wanting to stop touching her. She opts to leave some space between their bodies. Let Delphine decide how much contact she wants.

Cosima stares at Delphine trying to catch her breath, skin flushed and heart pounding - absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. Delphine says nothing and looks up at her ceiling. Her hopes of Delphine breaching the distance between them, of having Delphine want to be inside her are quickly dashed. Her new lover seems to fall inward, totally silent. 

Her heart nearly breaks when she hears Delphine crying. 

_ “Are you ok?” _

_ “Yes.” _

  
She runs out to get Delphine ice cream without thought. The short walk to and from the convenience store is punctuated with images of Delphine flushed and breathing heavy in her bed. She presses her hand to her face enjoying Delphine’s sweet scent on her fingers. It’s freezing, Cosima knows she should have thrown on some real clothes. The cashier eyes her as if he knows there’s not much under her red coat. But she rushes back to her apartment, it shouldn’t be hard to get warmed up again Cosima smirks to herself. Delphine is waiting for her. Delphine clad in only her underwear. Delphine who told her,  _ ‘I already am’...  _


	4. Breaking

“You’re back.” Delphine smiles at her from her bed, sitting up against the headboard and allowing the sheets to drop to her waist.

“Ice cream?” Cosima opens the box of the promised Eskimo Pies, tossing two wrapped frozen desserts on to the bed before running the leftovers back to her mini fridge - stuffing them into the tiny freezer. She peels off her coat and tosses it on the floor quickly moving back to the bed.

“I think the cashier knew I was almost naked under my coat.” Cosima admits giggling as she settles herself back down and opens one of the packages gesturing for Delphine to take the other.

She flops back on the bed, removing her glasses and placing them back on the dresser,

“So?” She asks, bringing her own Eskimo Pie to her lips. The unresolved tension deep in her body sits waiting, but she can’t think about that now. It might be over, Cosima reminds herself. This might be it.

Delphine opens the ice cream wrapper, bringing it to her lips, “It’s pretty good.” Delphine smiles. But something still seems off…

Cosima begins to eat her own ice cream, a little more sensually than she needs to - teasing Delphine. Trying to entice Delphine into wondering what else her mouth could do.

“Are you serious? They’re awesome. Like my favourite thing to eat...well as a kid. I’d like to think my tastes are a tad more sophisticated now but as I said… craven addict.” Cosima waggles the frozen treat and finally takes an actual bite.

“Truffles would be perfect right now.” Delphine hums, digging into her own frozen dessert. 

“Truffles? Is that your favourite thing to eat?”

Delphine nods. “ Favourite dessert, yes.”

Cosima lays back, looking more at Delphine than ceiling. “You’ll have to bring me some. I want to eat truffles.”

“Someday.” Delphine agrees. “And wine.” She adds, after consideration.

“Turns out...we didn’t need wine. But yeah.” Cosima smiles a wide smile. 

“What’s your favourite now?” Delphine asks between enthusiastic bites, pausing to lick the chocolate collecting on her own lips.

Cosima knows the planned answer; this is when she’s supposed to smirk and say ‘pussy’ and proceed to lay Delphine down on the bed to show her. Delphine might have wanted ice cream but she wanted something else.

A goofy but likely effective method of seduction. But something in her tells her to hold back, just a little. She eats instead, finishing the ice cream too quickly before dropping the wrapper and stick in the waste basket beside her bed. A familiar unpleasant sensation in her head. Shit.

“Cosima?” Delphine’s nearly done her ice cream now.

“I’m fine, just brain-freeze.” Cosima grumbles, waiting for it to pass.

“You ate too fast.” Delphine teases her, finishing her own ice cream in slow deliberate licks. “Better to slow it down, savour it.”

“Yeah… it is.” Cosima answers thinking of something quite different. Stay the night, she wants to beg, let’s do it again... She doesn’t want Delphine to think she’s desperate for an orgasm - she doesn’t really care. Cosima simply... wants.

“Stay?” She asks, voice a little uncertain, “You know, for the night... we can like get breakfast tomorrow and...” Cosima trails off feeling suddenly vulnerable.

“Alright.” Delphine smiles, licking melted ice cream off her fingers. “I’ll stay longer, I don’t have anywhere to be tonight.”

She glances back at the floor, noticing a shock of blue fabric that was not there before. “Those are... your underwear?” Cosima looks at Delphine in delight.

“Oui.” Delphine teases her by shifting, letting the sheet drop a bit lower, exposing creamy skin and a hint of wiry light brown curls.

Cosima rushes at Delphine, kissing her, practically growling into her mouth as she pulls Delphine backwards and on top of her. Delphine feels hot against her cold skin, soft and yielding under her hands. So much for savouring.

Her hands find the clasp of Delphine’s bra, “Can I take this off you?” Her voice sounds more desperate than she intended.

Delphine nods her assent, and her fingers make quick work of the clasp. Delphine sits up and tosses it on to the floor. Cosima removes her glasses, setting them safely aside. She won’t need them now.

She’s completely exposed to her now, pale pink nipples harden against her fingers, Cosima cups the newly exposed flesh in her hands, touching gently. Delphine claims her lips with another kiss, tongue probing her mouth once more.

“Are you cold?” Cosima whispers, feeling the chill on Delphine’s skin.

“Only a little, you’re freezing though.” Delphine wraps her arms around Cosima, pressing herself down against her body.

“You gonna warm me up?”

Delphine answers her with a kiss, deep and longing. And for a few blissful minutes it’s the only answer she needs. This is not going to be just once.

“I want you.” Cosima groans unable to help herself. Whatever Delphine wanted she was going to let her have. Delphine hadn’t moved to touch her breasts or remove her underwear. It was admittedly a disappointment. But it was still their first time. 

“You already had me.” Delphine whispers back, but she too is smiling. 

“Again. More. I want more. » Cosima admits. 

“What do you need?” Delphine cups her face in her hands. “You can just ask me.”

“I want to eat you out.” Cosima blurts out. It outweighs her craving for Delphine inside. For Delphine’s long, strong fingers against her.

“Eat me out...?” Delphine pauses a moment, but surely she must understand that. She sees comprehension dawning on her beautiful face. “Faire minette? Cunnilingus?”  
  
“Yes. Cunnilingus.” Cosima smiles, tilting her head and trying to play up her appeal. Wondering if that was even necessary. Delphine is straight. Cosima reminds herself, whatever she’d experienced before was different. 

“Now? But I’m already wet.” Delphine laughs at her. 

“Please.” Cosima begs. 

Delphine tries again. “What about you? What do you want?”  
  


“This is what I want.”

She kisses down Delphine’s neck, past her stomach to her thighs. She finally gets a look at her, Cosima smiles at the sight of Delphine’s swollen sex. 

She works her gently at first, watching for reactions. She presses her lips into her, buries her face. 

“You smell so good.” Cosima toys with Delphine. Laying soft kisses against her thighs. She’s enthralled as she leans in for a first taste. She hums happily and gives another teasing lick.

“Oh.” Delphine calls softly from somewhere above her. 

Already addicted, Cosima pulls Delphine under her. Having her like this sends heat all over her body. Cosima takes her into her mouth, delighting in this simple pleasure.

“You like this?” Delphine’s voice somewhere between a whisper and a whine.

Cosima reluctantly breaks contact. She needs to make that absolutely clear. “I love this! You taste so good. Even better than Eskimo Pies.” Cosima wants to prove it, licking and sucking to her heart’s content. She stiffens her tongue and teases it into Delphine’s entrance.

A hoarse cry emerges somewhere above her while she submerges herself in Delphine. In Delphine’s arousal. She revels in it as Delphine becomes less tentative, more demanding and this shift in energy only excites Cosima more.

Delphine moves under her mouth, into her mouth. Moaning as she works her. She catches fire, working her new lover tenderly. It’s perfect. So perfect. She’s falling for her, and Delphine hasn’t even touched her yet. Hands gently find her head, and she takes their soft guidance, trying to please.

At last, Delphine gushes her orgasm and keens, thighs tight around her head. Her dreads pulled at by strong, desperate hands.

She lays a gentle kiss against Delphine. Then nuzzles her wetly before propping herself up on Delphine’s belly. 

“Oh.” Delphine struggles to catch her breath. This was definitely satisfying, Cosima grins to herself as she wipes her face off on the sheets. 

“Oh that was so hot”. Cosima laughs into Delphine’s belly. 

“It was.” Delphine agrees, still breathing heavily. “Come up here with me.”

She obeys, stretching herself out next to Delphine, she cuddles in closer this time, knowing 

Finally, finally Delphine reaches for her, hand pressing cautiously against her through the thin fabric of her underwear.

She lets out a low groan, her patience paying off.

“Mon dieu, Cosima.” Delphine husks under her breath.

She knows why. It’s impossible to disguise how wet she is. How swollen. How beyond ready her body is for Delphine. For Delphine’s touch.

“Yes.” Cosima hisses. “Please, Delphine.”

“You’re wet.” Delphine murmurs. “You’re wet for me.”

“I’ve been wet since before our clothes came off.” Cosima admits. She’s crazy about Delphine, but she holds back just a little. She doesn’t want to overwhelm Delphine with her desire, or her emotions.

Delphine continues to slowly stroke her, and through the fabric it’s a terrible tease. For several wonderful, torturous minutes she lets Delphine stroke her.

“Can I take this off?” Cosima pulls at her own underwear with one hand.

“Alright.” Delphine agrees, watching as Cosima slip off the garment, tossing the lace panties to the floor with the rest of their clothes. Fingers return to their gentle explorations, stroking her swollen lips, grazing her opening, her clit.

Her bra is still on but she watches Delphine stroke gently between her legs, fingers probing curiously. Cosima is unsure how to interpret her expressions, but at least Delphine is looking at her. Touching her. Cosima adjusts her position, wanting to invite more contact. Part of her is surprised Delphine hasn’t just pushed inside her.

But Delphine stops suddenly, looking down, seemingly stunned by the sight of her engorged sex. Her fingers stop moving for a moment, but they rest against her.

_Am I sexy to you?_ Cosima wonders. _Is this exciting you? Do you like how I look?_ The questions die on her tongue, she can’t ask that. 

“What is it?” Cosima attempts to be calm, to slow her breathing and temper her desire. 

Delphine looks up at her instead, her fingers recommencing their soft stroking. “I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what I was expecting.”

“Here, I’ll do it.” Cosima offers, one hand reaching down between their bodies. Her fingers sliding over Delphine’s slick ones. For a second their eyes lock, Delphine lets out a breath and they work her together. 

Her own hands are faster, and more practiced. Cosima works her own fingers between her legs, inadvertently pushing Delphine’s away. No, that’s not what she wants. Not that at all. Delphine moves away, backing up on the bed, her eyes glued to Cosima’s frantically moving hand. There’s far too much space between them now. 

“No, come back!” Cosima begs, knowing she is so close. 

“Oh!” Delphine moans watching her.

“I want you…” Cosima moans, knowing she’s putting on a bit of a show. “Do you want to be inside me?” Can she manage that much?

“You want me.” Delphine repeats, moving her body in closer, hand going to cover Cosima’s own. She quickly adjusts, breaking her much needed rhythm to trap Delphine’s hand against her. To move with her.

“Yes…” Cosima urges. “Yes, like that Delphine.” She quickly resumes the pressure, this will be fast, Cosima knows well.

“Like this?” Delphine toys with her entrance just as her own fingers return to tease the straining bundle of nerves. 

She lets out a loud moan, startling both of them, it’s over in seconds and Delphine’s lips crash desperately into her own as she slides her fingers up to her belly. She loses herself in the kiss, soft lips working her own so perfectly. Delphine’s body pressing down against her own, the full contact she’d wanted at last. 

“Cosima.” Delphine moans, and kisses her again.   
  
It’s enough. Cosima breathes her relief, losing herself in Delphine’s kiss again. 

  
  


**

Cosima wakes early the next morning, skin pressed into Delphine’s. She can’t help herself, she finds her hands drifting down Delphine’s body. 

An annoying chiming sound from the direction of Delphine’s purse disturbs her fantasy of having her way with Delphine again. Can’t fight student life. Even if it's fake when one has made you a real TA.

“Hey, your alarm is going off.” Cosima lays a soft kiss on Delphine’s shoulder. “You might want to get up… but it’s still only 6:30am.”

“Morning.” Delphine calls blearily, stretching in bed next to her. This was far more than she was expecting. She wishes her bra were off, but maybe next time.

“How are you feeling about this? About us” Cosima asks her softly. 

“The sex? It’s different. Of course you know it’s not what it’s like with a boy. But… it’s very very good.” Delphine cannot stop the grin that spreads across her face anymore than she can stop her heart from beating faster in Cosima’s arms. 

“It’s the only kind of sex I’ve ever had.” Cosima admits, seeming extremely calm about it.

“Really?” Delphine cannot contain her surprise. 

Cosima gestures her way out of a shrug. “Yeah. I never wanted to. I had offers but I was not really interested. And without arousal, why bother?”

“So you’ve only been with women.” Delphine surmises.

“Yes… well kinda.” Cosima stops herself. “I have a now ex-boyfriend who _was_ an ex-girlfriend. Or I thought he was, but he wasn’t transitioning back then. It was a long time ago.” She finishes by shaking her head.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Cosima shrugs. “I don’t think we would have dated if so. Plus like apparently he’s gay now?”

Delphine isn’t sure how to answer this so she merely nods. “All of my ex-boyfriends are still men. As far as I know.” There weren’t that many true boyfriends but that’s not something she wants to admit to Cosima. 

Cosima just laughs. “You’re so cute. Do you want breakfast?”

“I’m sorry… there’s no time. I need to get home.”

“Walk of shame time?” Cosima grimaces.

“No… no shame at all.” Delphine assures her. “Not over this.” She won’t have her thinking that, not for a minute. The shame, Delphine thinks, is all hers. Not Cosima’s. And not about sex.

Cosima’s smile is contagious, she’s regretful to pull herself out of Cosima’s bed. To start hunting around for her clothes.

  
“Take an extra Eskimo Pie for the road.” Cosima urges, jumping out of bed almost completely naked, to get her one.


	5. Begin Again

_“You know, I’ve never been with a woman before.”_

_“Yeah. It showed.”_

It’s a terrible thing to say. Even if it is true. From the wounded look in Delphine’s eyes, Cosima knows she hit the target. Delphine gets up and leaves. Her own eyes prickle with tears she struggles to hold back. She does not want to lose Cosima, it is suddenly the very worst thing that she can imagine. 

Delphine thinks back to their ice cream, to the lovemaking that followed. Cosima had put her mouth on her, without hesitation, and pleasured her again. The best oral sex she’d ever had in her life. Was it because Cosima is a woman? Or is Cosima simply particularly skilled? Or was it how much Cosima clearly enjoyed the act? Or was it something deeper, something more emotional?

Cosima’s mouth. Cosima’s fingers. Just the thought makes her greedy for Cosima’s touch again. But that is something she may never have again. It had _meant_ something. _Making love_ with Cosima had meant something. 

Delphine returns to her rented room, and begins packing. She texts Aldous, not really anticipating what the response will be.

  * _Cosima is self-aware. She was on to me the whole time. She left Minnesota._



She might as well pack up in Minnesota. She’ll have to return to Dyad one way or another, she knows Dyad has ways of tracking its subjects and that Cosima will turn up again. 

  * _Can you still reach her?_



Delphine stops. Can she still reach Cosima? She could offer Cosima her love. More love than she would have ever expected. She could provide information. She could protect Cosima from Aldous. She knew him well enough to anticipate much of what he would do. And then, she could be with Cosima.

  * _I can reach her. I will pack up here._



  
Delphine texts back. She has to reach Cosima, she has to try. Who knows who they would try to send in her place if she doesn’t? She knows she’s already started preparing to leave but she might as well give Aldous the satisfaction of thinking she was obedient. That she was just following his lead.

  * _Will forward location when I find her. Going to give her the job offer._



Delphine stops for a moment. Would Cosima want her love? Cosima wanted _Delphine Beraud’_ s love. She’d asked her to stay over, she’d made love with her again. She’d let her touch her, even if it wasn’t skilled, wasn’t quite perfect. She berates herself inwardly for her tentativeness, her nervousness. She could do better, Delphine decides. She could learn to please Cosima unassisted. 

In the meantime, she must withdraw from the graduate program here. Must erase Delphine Beraud, PhD candidate and everything she could have been. Must become Delphine Cormier, the immunologist, once more.

She gets off the plane in Toronto, having brought only her essential luggage. A few suitcases no more. She didn’t want to go back to her old apartment. Definitely didn’t want to go to Dyad. She wants Cosima. She’s barely through customs at Pearson and she reaches for her phone. She can get through to Cosima. She must. 

Instead she texts Cosima, she might as well reveal that she is here. She wants to be with Cosima. Immediately. Even if only to help her, even if only to be near her.

**

Cosima tries not to respond, but she does. She gives Delphine an address and assumes Delphine will eventually come looking for her. She wasn’t anticipating Delphine arriving within the hour. Nevermind with her luggage still in tow.

_“What are you doing here?”_

_“Because I…. Because Leekie is a liar. And you can prove it, scientifically, with that.”_

Delphine knows though, that the artificial sequence is scrubbed. That Leekie had no intention of letting her see that part of her genome and who-knows-what else. After all, she was just another sick clone. A lab rat. The subject.

Cosima can’t contain her anger, shoving the mess of papers off of the small table.

She moves away from Delphine’s gentle touches, she doesn’t want her squeezing the back of her neck. Or anything else. The last thing she wanted was to be reminded how much she _wants_ Delphine.

_“Don’t!”_

She can’t go there again. Won’t go there again. Not while Delphine worked for Leekie. Not while Delphine is paid to lie to her. 

_“I’m on your side now. Please believe me. You have to trust someone.”_

Delphine isn’t wrong, Cosima acknowledges looking back at a face she’s grown far too fond of to hang onto her anger. And, Delphine may be able to be useful. To help her crack this bitch. 

So they work, and she realizes Delphine is still wearing that ridiculously sexy looking black bra. From what she can see of it under her shirt. Cosima pretends not to notice. She has her marker tag, they can do this. They can solve this.

_**_

_“I’m sick, Delphine.”_

She tears up, she can’t not. Cosima sees the instant comprehension on Delphine’s face. Delphine understands what she means and when Delphine goes to draw her into her arms, to hold her close to her body, she doesn’t resist.

When Cosima breaks the embrace, Delphine moves to follow. But she cannot get the patent out of her head. What it means. What it means for her. Property. And when rage strikes again, that Delphine was paid to lie to her. That Delphine insists that she is hers. 

Cosima lets Delphine kiss her, first her hand and then her neck. She cannot contain the shudder, she cannot dim her wanting. Cannot even fathom wanting Delphine to stop comforting her, to stop kissing her. When Delphine lifts her she wraps her legs around her waist without second thought. It’s too easy. Cosima ends up smiling into their kisses. Moaning into Delphine’s ear as she teases her ear lobe. She lets Delphine undress her. Lets Delphine _have_ her.

“I want to be inside you, Cosima. I want to make love to you.” Delphine whispers, arms still wrapped around her.

“Please.” Cosima begs in response.   
  


Cosima thinks hazily, she can defy her creators. She’ll start with this. She’ll love Delphine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping this one up. I decided it didn't really need another smut chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
